Forums » News and Announcements

Routing Premium ACRYLITE® Acrylic Sheet

    • 3204 posts
    July 28, 2021 3:47 AM EDT

    Many commercially available types of routers are acceptable. These include hand held routers, table routers, pin routers and fixed position routers. The router should have a minimum of one horsepower and a no load speed of 20,000 RPM.Get more news about Cnc Milling Acrylic Housing,you can vist our website!

    Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) machines are available from several manufacturers for high volume production. Today there are many companies manufacturing CNC routers servicing industries that fabricate wood, metal and plastic products. As a result, a variety of machine designs are available to fit the job demand.

    Light duty routers made for engraving or routing thin (.118") single sheet, are commonly fitted with one to three horsepower spindle motors. Medium duty routers as seen in the sign industry use four to seven horsepower motors. Large volume and multiple head routers have motors ranging from seven to twenty horsepower.
    Gantry type machines have an overhead beam that supports one or more routing heads or motorized spindles on a column. The column can be programmed to travel along the gantry beam both horizontally and vertically. The beam itself rides on two vertical supports that travel along parallel tracks set on both sides of a stationary worktable. This facilitates a third axis of movement.
    Stationary bridge machines are similar to gantry type machines except that the bridge is stationary. The third axis of movement is facilitated by a worktable that can move in a horizontal plane perpendicular to the stationary bridge.
    Machining centers originate in the tool industry. They offer higher precision and are commonly used for the production of small component parts. These machines typically have smaller worktables than the stationary bridge or gantry machines and carry a higher price, corresponding to their accuracy and versatility.
    All of these CNC machine types are available for purchase with hardware and software to facilitate machining on 2 ½, 3, 4 and 5 axis. There are machines suitable for any requirement from fabrication of small prototypes to large part production runs. CNC machines can handle repetitive production cycles, using one or two tables. They are also available with multiple routing heads or spindles, so several parts can be produced at the same time. Options such as turret heads and tool changing spindles to facilitate tool changes without stopping the machine are available. CNC machines can be set up for semi-automatic or fully automatic operations that incorporate material pallet changers and automated loading and unloading equipment. If business demands justify a step up in production, CNC routing is one of the best ways to increase productivity, as well as assure reproducible results and quality.
    Router bits for machining acrylic may consist of one to three flutes. Single and double fluted bits are commonly used. When using HSS or brazed carbide bits, the length of the cutting edge should not exceed three times the diameter of the tool or a ratio of 3 to 1. With the proper use of solid carbide bit technology, this ratio can be increased to 4.5 to 1. Bit shank diameter should always be equal to or larger than the cutting tool diameter. The length of the shank should be long enough so that the entire cutting edge is usable. Bits should be mounted in a clean collet chuck and set to allow maximum tool bit support and flute clearance to facilitate chip ejection.

    For hand held routing, two-flute straight bits are usually recommended. For table routers, pin routers and fixed position routers, single-flute or two-flute bits can be used. Single flute straight bits will give good results when contour routing. Single or double flute up-spiral bits will produce better results when cutting grooves or channels since the up-spiral configuration will assist in removing chips. Both “O” flute and “V” flute geometries work well.